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Communicating with Handicapped Loved Ones?

Posted by Cliff on from the making-the-complex-ultra-simple dept.

Trx asks: "Many of us regularly exchange digital images from our loved ones, but the disabled are often left on the dark side of this digital divide. My dad is quadriplegic, and I've been looking into ways I might outfit his room with an automated download of images to his television. Have any Slashdot users attempt something of this sort? He lives in an assisted living facility, with personal telephone/cable lines. He has special response buttons for control of television channels and phone. Due to high staff-turnover, training-in staff to help him download emails or images hasn't worked out. I am stationed overseas, and can only get back once every 6 months if I'm lucky, so low-maintenance is key. WebTV would be an option if it didn't require mouse or keyboard. We've also considered investing in a laptop DVD player, and mailing disks. Any suggestions?"

7 of 43 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Digital Picture Frame by MBCook · · Score: 3, Interesting
    OK, other idea. The quality wouldn't be as good (due to it being on TV) but it's still an option. Does he need channel 3 or 4? You can buy those little devices (often at Radio Shack (blech)) that let you plug in recent electionics (the kind of S-Video or RCA jacks) into old cable ready TVs. So you take a little PC (or laptop, or Mini-ITX or somesuch) with video out, and plug it into that box. Then you put that box between the TV and his cable line. Then whenever he goes to channel 3 or 4 (I think you can buy kits on the web to do it on other channels) he gets the pictures. From this point it is exactly as I described in my picture frame idea. You could do the same things for controll (or rig up other stuff for the same purpose). That would allow it to be on TV, and it would be much cheaper than the picture frame idea (buy an old laptop off e-bay with a busted screen and hide it behind the TV. It doesn't need the screen, just the video out.)

    Good luck.

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  2. Keep it simple by Bishop · · Score: 3, Interesting

    You mention a laptop with DVD player. An easier solution is simply a DVD player. Creating a DVD or VCD with a sequence of still images is very easy. With the correct indexing it is easy to go forward and back between images. Google for it.

    Another simple solution is to have your digital pictures printed out and delivered. There are many shops that do this. It is inexpensive. The big advantage is that there is nothing to break. Also no staff need special training (ditto for a dvd player). There is also an added bonus in that your father can easily display photos that he likes.

  3. The old fashioned way by Jorkapp · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Plain old 3x5 pictures are probably the best way to go. Many places can develop 3x5 pictures from both 35mm and digital sources. Sure, postage may be a little more, but there's nothing to break, requires no training, and he can easily have some staff member simply sit at his bed-side and flip through them for him.

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    Frink: Nice try floyd, but you were designed for scrubbing, and scrubbing is what you shall do.
    1. Re:The old fashioned way by WebCrapper · · Score: 2, Interesting

      While I'm not the story parent, I can say that this won't work well.

      I'm also stationed overseas with a handicapped sister. Mailing something to the states can take up to a month or more, depending on the season. At one point, I did manage to get a package back home in a record 10 days, a small miracle if you ask me.

      Also, the pictures could tend to get lost and it would require staff to sit with the parent's dad. This isn't something their going to want to do. To them, just having to be around patients every day is enough, asking them to sit down with him every time pictures come in is something else. The other thing is, due to high turnover, you'll occasionally get an idiot once in awhile that will just put the box in his dad's room and leave it - not good.

      I've also thought about this subject in the past and I'd have to say that a cheap digital picture frame (home built) would probably be best bet. Once I get a new laptop, my Dell Latitude from 1999 (yea, I'm a poor geek) will be turned into one.

  4. Download? by fm6 · · Score: 3, Interesting
    The key word here seems to be "download". There are any number of ways you can ship photos to your father, but I imagine you've already thought of those. I'm guessing you want your latest photos available to your father without much delay -- and without it being difficult for him to access them.

    I can think of a couple of solutions. For example: You get a cheap desktop or laptop computer. You use it for nothing but your father electronic picture downloader. You turn it on, and it automatically runs a web browser with a script that does a slideshow of all the photos on a particular web site. (A little serial port or IrDA hacking could maybe interface the slideshow with your father's existing gadgetry; otherwise you can just put the whole thing on a timer.) The web site belongs to you, and you just upload new photos to it whenever you want your father to see them. With a little work, you could also add audio files for narratives and background music.

    That's just one idea -- a little brainstorming would produce a couple more. If you lack the expertise to do the necessary software hacking, I'm sure you could find some volunteer labor. (I'd be pleased to offer my own skills.) The same goes for hardware hacking, though for that you'd need somebody on the scene.

  5. Maybe a simple solution.... by kponto · · Score: 4, Interesting

    You could create a webpage that refreshes itself every couple of minutes or so and displays full size photos chosen at random from a folder on the site. Plenty of prefab scripts out there that can do that. Just set up a laptop in his room and all the orderlies need to do is open Firefox with your photo page set as the default home page. You could also use this to send him message s by just editing the page. he wouldn't need to do anything as long as he has a dedicated phone line that can be online all the time. If he doesn't and can only be on sporadically, then just type up some simple instructions on how to double click the "Internet" button and then double click the "Firefox" button so the orderlies can get him signed on and tape it to the desk where the machine sits.

    I dunno...maybe something like that.

    k

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    This too, will end.
  6. Re:Digital Picture Frame by WebCrapper · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I would have to say after a lot of thought on the same subject, this would be the best way to go. Automating the downloads of pictures in the middle of the night would allow you to show him fresh pictures for when he woke up. You should be able to program the device to turn off the screen at, say 8pm and turn back on at 7am so it doesn't disturb him while sleeping. Mounting it on the wall or just above the TV would allow him to see it as he normally would.

    It would also allow you to get pictures to him the very next day as apposed to weeks with the APO system(Gag). On top of that, if you have kids, you would be able to scan drawings in of theirs and they would be available for his viewing the very next morning.

    I'm stationed in Wiesbaden Germany if the story parent is "local", I'd be willing to help out if needed.